Stephen Brown from The Adventure Team talks about Social Media
I met Stephen just over a year ago when he followed me on Twitter. We quickly began exchanging tweets, Facebook messages and texts until we finally met in person some months later and have bumped into each other several times since at various networking events.
As a scouter, his business fascinated me from day one as he basically gets paid to do all the fun stuff we do at scouts…. and he does it full time.
I booked him for a black tie event last year to do some pre-dinner games which turned out to be very novel, great sport and people are still talking about it today!
So what does this have to do with Social Media, well its simple. Stephen started his business (The Adventure Team) just over 12 months ago with virtually no money and absolutely no money for marketing or sales. What Stephen did have though was a computer and he quickly was able to build a large following on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to Stephen’s daily Facebook update where he talks about what he is going to get up to that day. (more…)
Skoda – We manufacture happy drivers, but do your dealers ?
Maybe so but the main issue is that Skoda after building the car, then go and put their trust in their dealer network to stay true to the brand.
In April of 2009 I purchased a November registered 2006 Octavia vRS from Mervyn Stewart (MS) / Skoda in Belfast. I love(ed) it, I had been searching for a car for work, parenting and scouting for some time and it ticked all the boxes, whilst not being too common and still a bit cool. One of my biggest concerns with buying a used or ‘pre enjoyed’ car (in particular a Skoda), was the warranty as my father had had serious problems a number of years ago with the computer on his Octavia.
The dealer ‘ Richard’, in fact the ‘Manager’ said, “The warranty is up on that car in Nov 2009 and we will extend it by 2 further years” . Happy days ! Or so I thought until Saturday 9th January. When I was driving down the motorway, all power was lost and the car came to a stop and would not re start.
The following timeline then occured
Sat 9th Jan :
Car looses all power on the motorway. I call Skoda assist who tell me, ‘this car is out of warranty, call someone else’ After some explaining to them that the dealer extended the warranty they sent out the RAC who pulled in the computer which showed there was a fuel injector fault. He could not fix it so he suggested he would tow me into Skoda Belfast (Mervyn Stewart or MS as we will now call them). (more…)
Henderson Group to take over local coffee fanchise chain ‘the streat’
I have been working with ‘the streat’ for nearly two year’s now, providing a complimentary Wi-Fi service to customers in their key stores. They are a local success story started by Michael and wife Nikki McQuillan (of no relation).
The business started from just one store in Belfast in 1999 to a massive franchised coffee and sandwich store chain with over 30 locations in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Their stores are fresh, clean and provide good food at reasonable prices.
Their support network and business start plans and assistance are what keeps them alive and makes choosing them as a franchise a no brainer, over the past 10 years they have won several training awards and pride themselves on brand and quality.
Northern Ireland’s mobile phone network is the worst in the UK
On my monthly drive to Enniskillen yesterday I was plaiged with the usual problems, no data service on my 02 iPhone and no service at all on my T-Mobile Blackberry. It was not until I got into Enniskillen itself that my phones locked onto the network and pulled down my data.
At home I have to go to the garden to make a call and I can forget about getting in touch with my friends who are on Orange when they are in Lisburn.
In shocking new figures printed today in the Belfast Telegraph today it has become apparent that the problem is worse than it seems with 59% of Northern Ireland’s mobile phone users reporting problems with signal on their phone, making our networks the worst in the UK.
The problem as I see it comes down to cold hard cash, with only 1.6 million people living in Northern Ireland it doesn’t make commercial sense to provide a full coverage, however with 02 retaining a 65% market share you would think they at least would be up to the job although anyone with an iPhone will know that the 3G functions on the handset are pretty much useless when you are out of Belfast.
Historically Vodafone always had the best coverage in Northern Ireland as the local infrasture and backhaul were owned by Vodac Ulster, powered by Bramwell who set up the network in Northern Ireland but this was sold in around 2000 / 2002 to Vodafone UK and the local network became part of a national strategy meaning the mast would not only be used by Vodafone customers but BT Cellnet (now o2) customers as well as part of a network sharing move.
The old school planning of rolling out a mobile phone network no longer applies, as the old school network roll out provisioned only for Voice and Text. As data came into play the networks simply upgraded the cell sites with out taking into consideration the fact that these cell sites would now house more traffic as people crave data on the move.
Looking at the coverage maps, it is hard to see today who has the best voice and data signal in the provence and most people subscribe to the network that gives them the best signal in their area – not much use for me who travels all over Northern and Southern Ireland every day.
Whats the answer ?
Commercially as I said. It does not make sense for all 5 mobile networks to roll out a fantastic network in NI, however it does make sense for one network to roll out a network with more capacity than they need and share the mast.
We will have to see how the proposed T-Mobile UK and Orange UK merger will improve things but I would not hold my breath !
NI tech blog talk to me
Up and coming website ‘NI Tech blog‘ talk to be about business, expansion and the economy.
The article is as follows.
Russell McQuillan is the Business Development Manager for Bitbuzz, Irelands leading Wi-Fi provider, Last year they expanded into Northern Ireland and this year are looking at the UK market. We caught up with Russell recently…
What is your company “elevator pitch”?
To provide simple, fast secure Wi-Fi to guests and customers of hotels and coffee houses.
Where did it all begin for the company?
Shane Deasy MD of Bitbuzz was working as a consultant for 02 and a company that later became ‘the cloud’ He was receiving great feedback about Wi-Fi from hoteliers and people in the hospitality industry but everyone he spoke to wanted the product to be tweaked a little bit here and there to suit there own business models, which at the time was something they could not do. So he moved back to Ireland and along with Alex French our COO and one other they set up Bitbuzz.
In January 2008 they decided to expand the business into Northern Ireland, that is when I joined the team to head up operations and expansion here. Hoteliers were happy to speak to us, as we were a real alternative to BT Openzone. We are speaking hotels every week now and launching more than one hotspot per week. In fact we have around 20 new sites due to come live shortly. Our next big step to be expand further in the UK mainland market and we have recently signed 7 locations there.
How many people does the company employ (locally/internationally)?
We employ 9 people across Ireland, naturally in a small company, job titles don’t mean much as we all tend to pitch is to get whatever we are working on completed on time.
Who are the target customers?
That’s a difficult question as we target hoteliers and high-end coffee chains, but it’s the end user that makes our service successful and keeps us in business. We would not have the end user if we didn’t have our service in the location, and we would not be in the location if our service was not popular with the end user, so both sides of the business are very important to us.
What does your role within the company entail… a typical day in your life?
First and foremost my job is to look at new ways of expanding the business, be that adding more hotspot locations or thinking of a totally new way of delivering Wi-Fi the people where we need it, like our new product Bitbuzz on Board, a service that will allow people to access the net whilst on their daily commute.
I travel all over the UK and Ireland speaking to people about our business, no two days are the same which is one of the reasons I love the job so much, my background is retail and when you open a new store it does not take long to figure out trading patterns and slip into a routine, there is no chance of that here thankfully!
Once a location is signed, I see that right through to it going live which means working closely with the management team in the location and my engineers, after the site is live I will keep an eye on it and visit every three months to look at new ways of promoting the service and increasing usage.
How did you get into this line of work?
I sold my stake in a small design consultancy, and had been looking for something new to get my teeth into, I worked for some time as an Ops Manager for restaurant chain which was later sold, I was just really looking to see what there was about and really was not sure what I wanted to do next, before my own business I had worked in retail management for 7 years and I did not really fancy going back into that sector. I noticed Bitbuzz were looking someone for head up NI, I met Shane and Alex in Dublin and started the following week.
What are the most & least satisfying aspects of your current job?
I enjoy working with people, hoteliers and coffee store owners, I enjoy learning about their business and providing them with a service that actually add’s value to their consumer offering and drives customers into their outlet.
The least satisfying part of my job is when I drive 3 hours to see a potential client only to receive a phone call about 15 minutes before the meeting ‘asking to postpone’
In the current economic climate one mantra is “Innovate out of recession” – what innovations does the company offer?
We made the decision at the start of the year to expand the business into the UK mainland, one of our main selling points to hoteliers is that there is no capex, in that we invest in all the hardware needed to get up and running. This gives us a competitive edge over smaller home-brew solutions and in recent months BT who do not seem too keen on the no capex deals anymore.
How is the company weathering the economic storm – do you see any green shoots of recovery yet?
Its tough for everyone out there, the important thing is to get your head down, keep on keeping on and get through this. There are companies that won’t survive the storm but those that do will come out of this super streamlined and so driven to achieve big things. As for green shoots, A customer of ours recently received €50 million in VC funding so if the VC’s are lending again that has to be a step in the right direction.
Does the company have plans to expand locally or internationally in 09/10?
Yes as I said, we are looking at GB at present and have recently signed our first locations there, we will look at mainland Europe when the time is right but its important for us to grow slowly and not loose sight of the customers we have already.
And finally…What is the ultimate ambition of your company?
World domination, Isn’t everyone’s?
For more information on Bitbuzz check out their website: http://www.bitbuzz.com
If your company is interested in being interviewed for NITechBlog.com please email james@nitechblog.com
Top Gear Challenge : Race to Cork
After months of debating the best type of transport in Ireland and of
course chatting about the legendary show that is Top Gear, we (Lagan
Valley Explorer Scouts) decided to take the debate one step further
and run our own version of one of Top Gear’s races across a country.
The challenge was set; we would meet at McDonalds Sprucefield at 5am
on Saturday 27th June and see who would be the first team to arrive at
Cafe Hi, Merchants Quay Shopping Centre in Cork 250 miles away.
We had three teams:
Team 1, made up of Harriot, Alison and Mark went for the public
transport option, taking the bus to Dublin (no trains at 5am, shame!)
and then catching a train to Cork.
Team 2, made up of Warren, Clare and Pudz decided to fly however the
only flight they could get left from Dublin at 9 – so they to would
need to grab the bus to get that far.
Team 3, made up of myself, James, Stu and Hylands took 2 cars and
would drive the full way.
We then had three weeks of excitement, doubt, double checking routes
and talking big talk of who was going to lose.
It very quickly became 5am on 27th June and the race began, and this
is what happened.
I was in the Car Team.
Too much talking and eating of burgers meant we did not actually
realise 5am had passed and we set off, all be it 5 minutes late.
Straight away we had an advantage as we were rolling whereas the other
teams would have to wait 15 minutes on the bus, zero traffic at 5am
meant the drive was the most pleasurable I have ever taken added to
that the banter between the other car over the CB radio and the
banging tunes on the CD player I cannot think of a better way to
travel.
At 6am we had made great progress, I received a call from the two
teams on the bus who had just came past Newry but we had just zipped
through the toll road at Drogeda.
At 7am we had shot round the M50 in great time and where on the road
to cork, The other two teams had got off the bus and split up at the
airport with the Plane team checking in for their 9.00 flight and the
train team grabbing a cab across Dublin for their 8am train, this is
where (for them) the fun began !!
At around 7.10am I received a call from Warren, my brother in the
Plane team who informed me that Clare had forgot to print her boarding
card all was not lost though as the lovely girl at the check in desk
of (lets call them) Bryanair offered to reprint it for her for a mere
€40, what a lovely company to fly with!
Things were not running smoothly for the train team either, the bus
had came into Dublin 10 minutes late making it incredibly tight to get
the 8am train, the taxi agreed to zip across Dublin for them, getting
them into the station 6 minutes before the train was due to leave.
That however was not the end of their problems, their tickets had been
pre-booked and the reservation machine was not finding the tickets
against the credit card they had booked with, a long queue meant they
could miss the train. They got sorted though with minutes to spare
and boarded the train just as it was about to leave.
With everyone now south of Dublin, adrenalin was starting to pump and
everyone was getting excited and concerned that the other teams would
arrive first. At this time we spotted a sign by the side of the road
- CORK – 39KM, What? Really? Fantastic, we where defiantly going to
win.
The phone call’s pretty much stopped at this stage, the plane team
were through security, the train team had boarded and we where very
close to Cork – the race was on big time.
We entered Cork city at around, 8.15 and began looking for the
shopping centre. We parked up to asked a taxi driver who informed us
it was right behind us, a quick lap of the one way system we parked
and began to laugh hysterically (knowing the plane has not taken off
yet!) At 8.35 we arrived at the cafe and won the race.
The next hour and a bit was pretty boring, we were waiting on the
plane team landing and checking in…… not wanting to let people
know we had won – I decided to update my facebook with ‘ flat tyre,
this could cost us the race!’ straight away Harriet texted me to laugh
(the joke is on you now Harry) at around 10.15 the Plane team checked
in again to say they had landed and were on route to the meeting
point, the race (or so they thought) was on again.
Sat in the Coffee store, two of my party had gone to cash machine and
I began to panic – the rules stated that all the team had to be
present when the 2nd team arrived to count as a victory, oh noes ! I
quickly rounded them up and we sat quietly in the corner waiting, I
could hear Pudsey from the plane team coming around the corner saying
(I think we have won ……….. oh f&*^$£^%£)
That was it, the car won, the plane came second and later the train
team came running in and lunch was on them !
Times….
We all left at 5am, checking into the end-zone at
Car 8.35am
Plane 10.35am
Train 10.55am
Restaurant Review : Metro Belfast
Metro Restuarant is attached to the Crescent Townhouse hotel in Belfast, across from the empire…… It used to be called The Regency and if you can remember it when it was called that, then there is older than me here !
First Impressions
Its a busy Saturday night and we booked dinner for 6pm, when we entered the restuarant it was half full and well staffed. The dinning area is bright and well laid out on two levels, we sat down the back towards the kitchen and set about getting drinks and choosing a menu. There are two menus available, the standard and the ‘Dine with Wine’ menu. We went for the ‘Dine with Wine’ menu – two courses each and a bottle of wine for £45.
Food, Service and Selection.
The menu is small with around 6 dishes for starter and the same for main however all areas are covered although two of the main meals (Duck and Steak) come with a £5 additional charge. I went for Fois Gras Pate to start, Lyndsey went for Pasta and we both had the rib-eye for Main (both with a £5 additional charge). The food was average – nothing specular and certainly not worth £55 I thought, The steak was under cooked and very fatty.
The service I have to say, was very good – the staff were attentive and well trained, as the restuarant started to fill up they coped well.
Costs
As I said the Dine with Wine menu is £45 plus we paid an additional £10 for the two steaks so £55 all in.
Rusky Rates
Service was good, very attentive and well trained : 9/10
Food, Steak undercooked and fatty : 5/10
Vibe : busy, a few girls parties in, a good buzz: 8/10
Value for Money : £55 for two course and a bottle of wine, I have had better for less money : 5/10
Choice : A good selection on the menu for all tastes, some thing for every pallet 8/10
Total 35/50
Restaurant Review : Ginger Bistro Belfast
Their website simply reads :Ginger…
Well fundamentally it’s a Bistro, good food & drink. But it’s also Bohemian with a menu which zigzags across the globe but is at the same time conscious of the importance of Local Produce. Local is Best. Simon buys fish from the fishermen and meat from the farm. A funky place with a good stereo. Not formal but slick. A great addition to a good night out in Belfast.
When we are in Belfast, we never miss the opertunity to grab lunch in Ginger, tucked away in one of Belfasts many side streets, Ginger is a great funky bistro to be enjoyed with friends and family, or a business lunch.
First Impressions
Its around 2 oclock on a quiet Belfast Saturday, the bistro is not busy but its about half of it is full, and the patrons all seem to be in good spirits. We are quickly shown to our favorite seats by the window and get on with choosing what to have for lunch.
Selection Food and service
It’s not a huge menu but there is a few fish dishes, meat and poultry. all in all a good selection. The service was average and the waiter knew the in’s and out’s of each dish on the menu. I went for the squid and garlic fries with a garlic dip and my wife went for monk fish pan fried. The great thing about Ginger is all the meals are light and well cooked which is great for lunch, we also had a side of greens. The monk fish was meaty and really filling, cooked as described and the perfect amount. The squid was lightly dusted in breadcrumbs, slightly browned and cooked to perfection. My father in law (if he were there) may have described the greens as under cooked – however I thought they were just the correct amount of crunchiness. For desert we shared an Irish cheese board and homemade Armagh apple crumble. Delicious
Costs
For lunch, Ginger really does represent excellent value for money. A few beers, two starters, two deserts and sides for just under £30. spot on !
Rusky Rates
Service was acceptable, didn’t check on us, nor keep our drinks topped up, had to ask twice for the bill : 7/10
Food, Excellent, fresh, as described and on time : 9/10
Vibe : Quiet but every enjoying themselves: 8/10
Value for Money : Under £30 for lunch – great value all round : 9/10
Choice : A good selection on the menu for all tastes, some thing for every pallet 9/10
Total 42/50
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